The African Democratic Congress, or ADC, has warned that a national monument of this magnitude shouldn’t be left to private charity and has urged the Federal Government to take immediate responsibility for finishing the long-abandoned National Library of Nigeria project in Abuja. The First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, recently declared that she would support the completion of the library as part of her birthday celebrations, to which the party was responding. Although the First Lady’s gesture was appreciated, ADC emphasized that the National Library cannot be viewed as a pet project.
According to the party, the National Library, established by an Act of Parliament in 1964, is the custodian of Nigeria’s collective memory and intellectual heritage. In this regard, its completion and long-term maintenance must be prioritized through transparent, sustainable and predictable national funding, not through goodwill donations.
The statement reads, “The African Democratic Congress, ADC, acknowledges and appreciates the thoughtful gesture of the First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, in drawing attention to the abandoned National Library of Nigeria project in Abuja as part of her birthday celebrations.As responsible parties, we must assert unequivocally, however, that the National Library of Nigeria cannot and should not be treated as a pet project of any one person, regardless of how well-meaning.Our collective memory and intellectual legacy are preserved in the National Library. Nigeria’s history, culture, research, and knowledge creation are all under its care. It is not merely another structure. In order to guarantee that future generations have access to the vast amount of knowledge required to create a progressive and enlightened society, it was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1964 as a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Education. Therefore, the library and its initiatives need to be financed by national budgetary provisions in order to be sustainable. Presidental attention is needed now that Mrs. Tinubu has expressed interest in the National Library, not private almsgiving.
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